My Cultural Diet

This Expanse novel takes a break from the vast space opera/alien stuff to focus on individual stories for each of the Rocinante’s crew. Amos Burton is one of my favorite Expanse characters and I liked his story the best.

Completely bonkers Bollywood action film that makes the Mission: Impossible movies look like made-for-TV movies. Come for the crazy stunts and increasingly improbable twists, stay because you find it impossible to resist Hrithik Roshan’s smoldering looks.

An excellent Lovecraft-inspired novella. Reads like the trippiest X-Files episode never made.

Their mango chicken on jasmine rice is solid, but the skillet shrimp appetizer is where it’s at.

For a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book geared towards grade schoolers, Hyperspace is pretty trippy and meta.

Loved the Cold War, 007-esque espionage angle on this one.

This restaurant in Mead, NE (of all places) was a delightful surprise. Their wood-fired pizzas are delicious and they even make a solid cheesesteak.

If you have a sweet tooth like mine, then this place is a must-see. Huge assortment of candies from all over the world, including Japanese Kit Kats.

I used to go to this baked sub shop all the time, but now it’s only in Omaha. Their beef sandwich was just as delicious as I remembered (though I should’ve ordered it with extra cheese).

I’m not a huge fan of maki rolls, but the tempura coating on their Hawaiian roll was *chef’s kiss*. The Itchy Salmon is also excellent. Added bonus: My kids loved it.

My second time through the campaign. Enjoyed it even more, especially the gorgeous art design. I’m left wanting more, in both good and bad ways.

I was honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Sometimes, you just want to watch a beefy protagonist who has no qualms smashing bad guys’ heads in while dropping one-liners. This more than fills that bill. Bring on season two!

I really want to rate this higher, but it just doesn’t embrace the weirdness of Tsutomu Nihei’s manga as much as I would like.

I was a big fan of The Martian, and this feels very much of a piece. One of those sci-fi novels that makes you feel smarter while you read it. And yes, I’ll totally watch the (inevitable) movie.

I know nothing about ZZ Top’s music (other than the obvious hits) but I really enjoyed this.

Our new favorite pizza place in Lincoln. Their pepperoni and cream cheese is on point.

I occasionally found the controls frustrating, but I was never not intrigued by this “surreal, exoplanetary exploration game” (their words, not mine).